Automatic piano-player.



A A. AARNS. AUTOMATIC PIANO PLAYER. APPL'IQATION FILED PBB.5,1910.

973,889. Patented Oct.- 25, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A. A. AARONS.

AUTOMATIC PIANO PLAYER. APYLIOATIQN FILED 2113.5, 1910.

Patented 0@t.25,1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

me Numls PE1-Eres ca WASHINGTON, o. c.

ALEXANDER A. AARONS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC PIANO-PLAYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 25, 1910.

Application led February 5, 1910. Serial No. 542,202.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER A. AARoNs, a citizen of the United States,residing at the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in AutomaticPiano-Players, of which the following is a clear, full, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to an automat-ic electro-magnetically operateddevice which is adapted for application to any piano for the purpose ofacting upon the sound-producing elements thereof to produce music.

In practice I preferably embody my improvement in the form of anattachment that may be detachably secured to the casing of a piano, thesaid attachment being designed to be supported wholly by the piano andhaving no legs, or other supporting elements, which rest upon a floor.

` My improved device, as herein illustrated,

is in the form of an elongated box which extends substantially the fulllength of the piano, the said box containing elements which coperate toactuate and control the actuation of the sound-producing devices of thepiano.

Other features of my improvement will hereinafter appear.

I will now proceed to describe my invention, the novel features of whichI will finally claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part hereof, wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view of an upright piano having my improveddevice attached thereto; F ig. 2 is a fragmentary side view of anupright piano showing an end elevation of my improvement; Fig. 3 is anenlarged cross-sectional detail view, the section being taken on a linece-a in Fig. l and looking in the direction of the arrow, showing thearrangement of the electro-magnets relative to their coperatingkey-depressing levers, a portion of a white key and a black key beingalso shown; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the perforated musicroll which, as it passes between contacts, controls the actuation of thekey-levers; Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary front view of a number ofcooperating contacts; Fig. 6 is anenlarged sectional side elevation ofsome of the contacts, showing the perforated music roll therebetween;Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, the section being takenthrough one end of the box, the section being indicated by the line b-ZJin Fig. 8, the end frame adjacent thereto being removed; Fig. 8 is aplan view, the box and upper part of the receptacle being removed; Fig.9 is an enlarged detail sectional view of one of the upper rollsupporting devices; Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of anoperating mag net for the rheostat; Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic view ofthe electrical wiring which I employ; and Fig. 12 is a modified form ofconnection between the music roll rotating ratchet and spindle.

My improved automatic piano-playing device, as herein embodied andillust-rated, comprises an elongated box, or casing, 1 (see Fig. 1)provided with an auxiliary receptacle 2 within which are placed themusic-roll, operating mechanism therefor, and the contacts whichcooperate with the musicroll to complete the circuit for theelectromagnets.

As the perforated sheet which controls the operation of myelectro-magnets is known in the trade as a music-roll, I willhereinafter refer to same as a music-roll.

The devices which I have, in this instance, employed to actuate thewhite keys 3 and black keys 4i of the piano consist of levers or arms 5and 6, having rounded projections 7, provided with a pad 8 of rubber,leather, felt or the like. As can be seen in Fig. 3, the levers 5 and 6are pivotally mounted upon rods 9 and 10, respectively, the said leversbeing provided with springs 11 adapted to hold the outer ends of saidlevers upwardly when the device is removed from the piano. The rods 9and 10 extend the entire length of the box 1 and support all of thelevers or arms 5 and 6. To actuate or pull downwardly the arms 5 and 6,I employ electro-magnetic devices, in this instance, electro-magnets 12and 13 respectively, which act upon armatures 14: carried by the saidlevers. Each magnet 12 for the longer arms 5 and each magnet 13 for theshorter arms G is connected to a circuit-closer 15, as can be seen inFig. 11, the said circuitclosers being shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Each ofthe circuit-@losers 15 is adapted to aid in closing the circuit for itsconnected magnet independently of the rest of the said circuitclosers,and to render the said circuit-closers independent I mount the same upona sleeve 1G of insulating material (see Figs. 5 and 6). The sleeve 16 iscarried by a rod 17 which extends the length of the receptacle 2. InFig. 5 is illustrated one end 18 of the said receptacle 2.

The circuit-closers 15 consist of a clampmember 19, a jaw-member 20,provided with a roller 21, and a spring-member 22, preferably of springbrass, which ties the said clamp-member 19 and aw-member 20 together.The spring-member 22 tends to force the roller 21 downwardly by its ownresiliency, as the member 19 is tightly clamped to the sleeve 16, which,together with its supporting rod 17, is fixed or immovable.

To coperate with the circuit-closers 15, I have provided a contact 23,which consists of a plurality of sleeves 24 rotatably mounted upon a rod25, which in turn is supported, at each end thereof, (one only beingshown) by an arm 26 firmly clamped to a xed rod 27 carried, at each endthereof, by the end walls of the receptacle 2. rIhe Contact 23 iselectrically connected by a wire 28 to one side of a source ofelectrical energy 29 (see Fig. 11), the other side of the source ofelectrical energy being connected to all of the magnets 12 and 13 by awire 30. The magnets 12 and 13, and their connected circuit-closers 15,are connected in parallel with the source of electrical energy 29.

To vary the strength of the current for the magnets 12 and 13, Iinterpose in the circuit 30, a variable resistance 31, thecircuit-closer 32 of which is operated by a plunger-magnet (in thisinstance) 33. The magnet 33 is connected to one side of the source ofelectrical energy 29 by a wire 34, a resistance 35 being included inthis leg of the circuit for the magnet 33. The magnet 33 is alsoconnected to a circuit-closer 36, the construction of which is the sameas that of the circuit-closers 15. The circuit-closer 3G completes thecircuit for the magnet 33 at certain predetermined periods during thetravel of the music-roll with the aid of the contact 23. The function ofthe variable resistance, or rheostat 31 will hereinafter be explained.The function of the resistance 35 is to prevent the magnet 33 fromgetting current enough to short-circuit the magnets 13 and 12, when themagnet 33 is energized.

It may here be stated that as there are fifty-two white keys in astandard piano key-board, I employ that number of arms 6 and magnets 13,as well as arms 5 and magnets 12 for the black keys, there being acircuit-closer 15 for each white key and black key; also that there is arotatable sleeve 24 for each circuit-closer 15, as well as one extrasleeve 24 for the circuit-closer 3G for the magnet 33.

Referring to Fig. 8, the rlieostat 31 comprises a casing 37 whichcontains the resist ance coils of any of the well-known forms. The coilsin the casing 37 are connected in the usual manner to contacts 38against which the circuit-closer 32 bears. The circuit-closer 32 carriesa gear 39 which meshes with the teeth 40 of the plunger 41 of themagnet- The plunger 41 is returned after each actuation thereof by acompressionspring 42. The inward movement of the plunger 41 is regulatedby an adjustable screw 43 (see Fig. 10). By means of the adjustablescrew 43, I am able to regulate the extent of rotation of thecircuit-closer 32 of the rheostat 31,whereby the amount of resistanceoffered to the current for the magnets 12 and 13 can be regulated for apurpose to be hereinafter explained.

The music-roll 52 (see Fig. 8), which I employ, is mounted at each endthereof, in cups 44 and 45, which are slidably mounted upon spindles 47and 48 respectively, which in turn are rotatably mounted in the framemembers 49 and 50. The spindles 47 and 48 are provided with keys orsplines 51, which operatively connect the said spindles and cups. Thespindle 48 extends through the frame member 50 and carries a sprocketwheel 54 (see Fig. 7) over which a sprocket chain 52a passes. Thetake-up, or lower roll is also rotatably mounted in the frame members 49and 50 and is adapted to take up the perforated music-roll as it is fedthrough the circuit-closers 15 and contact 23. The take-up roll 53 isrotated by a sprocket wheel 54a (see Fig. 7) over which the chain 52apasses. The sprocket wheel 54 is loosely mounted upon the spindle 48 anddoes not transmit any movement to the roll 52, while the said roll isbeing fed. After the roll 52 has been run out, it may be wound up againby throwing in a clutch 55, which is keyed to but adapted to slide uponthe spindle 48.

To feed the roll 52, I provide an electric motor 56 which operates aworm-gear 57 by means of a worm 58. Then the chain 52a is operated, bythe sprocket pinion 58a the take-up roll 53 imparts movement to themusic-roll by winding it thereupon. After the roll 52 has run out it maybe rewound by causing the motor to run in the oppo site direction, bymeans of a pole-changer 59 (see Fig. 11), after the clutch 55 has beencaused to engage the clutch-jaw member GO (see Fig. 8) on the sprocket54.

To place the roll 52 in the cups 44 and 45, it is but necessary to pullthe cups toward their respective frame members against the tension of aspring 61 on each spindle. Movement is transmitted to the roll 52through the cup 45 by virtue of the pressure of the spring 61, the cup44 acting as a support or alining device only. A roller 62 is provided(see Fig. 7) for the music-roll to pass over. As can be seen in Fig. 8each end of the reel 63 upon which the roll 52 is wound is located in anadjacent cup.

The speed of the motor 56 is controlled by a rheostat 64. To operate thecircuitcloser 65 of the rheostat 64, I employ a hand wheel 66.

The music-roll 52 which I employ is of a well-known form, havingperforations 76 therein, which are disposed relatively to the contacts15, so as to cause the magnets 12 and 13 to operate the keys of thepiano to produce music. As the roll 52 travels between thecircuit-closers 15 and sleeves 24 of the contact 23, the saidcircuit-closers and contact will complete the circuit for any of themagnets 12 and 13, whenever a perforation permits the corresponding`circuitclosers to strike the Contact 23. Then a circuit, or circuits.is, or are, closed, the mag` nets, corresponding to the circuit-closers15 which strike the contactI 23 (which in turn correspond to certainkeys on the key-board of the piano) will become energized and pull downtheir respective arms 5 or 6. Then the arms are pulled down the keys,which they contact with, will be depressed, whereby a note or notes ofmusic will result. As the action of an armature, when acted upon by amagnetic ield, is quick, the effect upon the key will be .more or lessstaccato; hence the hammer will be caused to strike the strings a sharpor quick blow which will cause the strings to vibrate quickly and notwith the muitled vibration usually resulting with thepneumaticallyoperated automatic piano-playing devices.

A further feature of my improvement comprises the rheostat 31 and meansof operating same. It is usual in the so-calledselfplaying attachments,to soften the music by means of a manually operable device, but inconnection with other features of my invention, I have incorporated anautomatically operable device to throw into the line, or circuit, forthe magnets which depress the keys, sufficient resistance to weaken thesaid magnets, whereby the keys are depressed with less force. I have,furthermore, provided means whereby any desired resistance may be throwninto the line, whereby I am able to soften the music to any desiredextent.

To carry out the above named operation automatically, I provide themusic-roll 52 with extra perforations 77, one only being shown in Fig.4. The said perforations are positioned to permit the circuit-closer 36to strike the contact 23 whenever the said perforations registertherewith. It will be, of course, understood that a perforation 77 willbe placed opposite only to the notes or chords that are to be softlyplayed, the length of the perforations being determined by the number ofmeasures of music that are to be softly played. The perforation 77 ispreferably started a little in advance of the opposite perforations 76in order to give the circuit-closer 32 time to reach the desired contact38 before the key-magnets are energized. By adjusting the screw 43inwardly or outwardly the extent of the movement of the plunger 41 canbe regulated, which in turn controls the extent of movement of thecircuit -closer 32 and consequently the amount of resistance thrown intothe line. The normal position of the Contact 32 cuts all resistance outof the circuit for the keymagnets.

Fig. 11 illustrates the circuit for the motor 56.

'I'o attach the box l to the piano, I provide the same with brackets 78which are adapted to enter sockets 7 9 on the under side of thekey-board portion of the casing (see Fig. l).

The rotatable sleeves 24 act as a rollerbearing for the music-roll aswell as contacts for the circuit-closers 15. The rollers 21 of thecircuit-closers 15 and the rotatable contacts 24 not only serve tocomplete the circuits for the key-magnets, but they also facilitate thefeeding of the music-roll.

The receptacle 2 is in two parts, 8O and S1, hinged at 82, in order thatthe part 81 may be swung open in order to have access to the mechanismin said receptacle (see Fig. 7).

In Fig. 12 is illustrated another form of device which I am able toadopt for the purpose of transmitting to the roll 52 movement, when Idesire to rewind the said roll. The device referred to comprises aratchet 677 which is rigidly secured to the spindle 48, and a pawl 68,which is mounted upon the loosely mounted sprocket wheel 54. When themotor 56 is caused to operate in a direction to rewind the roll 52 thepawl 68 on the sprocket wheel 54 will engage the teeth of the ratchet67, whereby the cup 45 will be rotated and the reel 52 rewound. Whilethe roll 52 is being fed, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 12, the pawl68 will jump the teeth of the ratchet 67.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. In a piano-playing device, a plurality ofelectrically operated devices for actuating the keys of a piano, aparallel circuit for each of said electrical devices, means forcontrolling the flow of current to said electrical devices, a commonconductor for said parallel circuits, a rheostat located in said commonconductor provided with a movable circuit-closer, means for actuatingsaid circuit-closer and an adjustable device for controlling the extentof operation of said circuit-closer.

2. In a piano-playing device, a plurality of electrically operateddevices for actuating l the keys of a ano, a parallel circuit for eachof said e ectrical devices, means for controlling the flow of current tosaid electrical devices, a common conductor for said parallel circuits,a rheostat located in said common conductor, provided With a movablecircuit-closer, means for actuating said circuit-closer, said meanscomprising a solenoid and a longitudinally movable core actuatedthereby, and means for controlling the extent of movement of said core.

3. In a piano-playing device, a plurality of electrically operateddevices for actuating` the keys of a piano, a parallel circuit for eachof said electrical devices, means for controlling the flow of current tosaid electrical devices, a common conductor for said parallel circuits,a rheostat located in said common conductor, provided with a movablecircuit-closer, means for actuating said circuit-closer, said meanscomprising a solenoid and a longitudinally movable core actuatedthereby, and an adjustable screw for controlling the extent of movementof said core.

il. In a piano-playing device, a plurality of electrically operateddevices for actuating the keys of a piano, a parallel circuit for cachof said electrical devices, means for controlling the flow of current tosaid electrical devices, a common conductor for said parallel circuits,a rheost-at located in said common conductor, provided With a plural ityot contacts and a pivotally mounted circuit-closer, a gear carried bysaid circuitcloser, a rack in engagement With said gear, an electricaldevice for actuating said rack, and an adjustable screw for controllingthe extent of operation of said rack.

Signed at New York city, N. Y., this 2d day ot February, 1910.

ALEXANDER A. AARONS.

litnesses EDWARD A. JARvis, ESTELLE O. HAMBURGER.

